Brain-wave boost sets us to slow motion

Boosting brain waves can make people move in slow motion. This finding is one of the first to show that brain waves directly influence behaviour, and it could lead to new treatments for Parkinson’s disease and other disorders that affect movement.

Peter Brown and his colleagues at University College London generated a small electrical current in the brains of 14 healthy volunteers using scalp electrodes. The current increased the activity of normal beta waves – a kind of brain wave that is usually active during sustained muscle activities, such as holding a book. Beta activity usually drops before people begin a movement.

The participants then carried out a simple task&colon; they moved a spot on a computer screen as quickly as possible using a joystick. When beta wave activity increased, their fastest times slowed by 10 per cent.

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“This is the first time that beta wave activity has been shown to slow movement,” Brown says.

Deep currents

Other studies have found that people with Parkinson’s disease have greater beta activity. Brown’s research suggests this could be linked to the slowing of movement seen in those with the disease. Electrical stimulation deep in the brain is used to treat people with Parkinson’s, although how it works is a subject of debate.

The electrical currents used in the new study were too small to be felt by the participants, and the researchers were surprised they had such a measurable effect.

“It’s very interesting that artificially boosting the beta wave slows movements,” says Stuart Baker of Newcastle University, UK. “This is a completely new way of thinking about how to treat patients with Parkinson’s disease.”

The findings are even more relevant for conditions of uncontrolled movement, such as dystonia and chorea, Brown said. “An electrode could be inserted under the skull to boost brain activity and slow down uncontrolled movement.”